Guide · Parents · England
How secondary school admissions work in England
Deadlines, preferences, how places are decided, offer day, waiting lists and appeals, in the order you will meet them.
By the Pyxion Learn team · Checked 30 October 2026
Secondary transfer in England follows the same national timetable everywhere, even though each school sets its own rules for who gets in. Here is the sequence, from Year 5 to the September your child starts.
1. Find the schools within reach (Year 5 and early Year 6)
Start with every school your child could realistically attend, not only the nearest. For each one, read its admission arrangements: the published rules that say how places are given out when more children apply than there are places. Schools publish these well before the application window.
If you are considering grammar schools, the test usually takes place in September of Year 6, and registration often closes in the summer term of Year 5. See how the 11+ works.
2. Apply by 31 October of Year 6
You apply to your home council, even for schools in another council area. The deadline is 31 October. You can name several schools in order of preference: at least three, and some councils allow up to six.
Preferences are considered under an equal preference system: every school ranks applicants against its own rules first, without knowing where you placed it. If your child qualifies for more than one, you are offered the one you ranked highest. So listing a school you would accept as a lower preference never harms your chances at your first choice.
3. How places are decided
When a school has more applicants than places, it applies its oversubscription criteria in order. Typical criteria include:
- looked-after and previously looked-after children (always first by law)
- children with an education, health and care plan naming the school (they are admitted before anyone else)
- siblings already at the school
- living in a catchment or priority area
- faith criteria, at schools with a religious character
- distance from home to school, used as the tie-breaker
Grammar schools first require a qualifying test score, then rank qualifiers by score, by distance, or by priority groups. Every school's rules are different, which is why comparing them side by side matters.
4. National offer day: 1 March
Offers are sent on 1 March (or the next working day). You can accept the offer and still ask to stay on the waiting list for schools you ranked higher.
5. Waiting lists and appeals
Waiting lists are ranked by the oversubscription criteria, not by when you joined. Places often move between March and September as families accept other offers.
You have the right to appeal for any school that refused a place. The admission authority must give you at least 20 school days from the date of the refusal letter to lodge your appeal, and publishes its appeal timetable each year. Appeals are heard by an independent panel.
Common mistakes
- Naming only one school. If it is oversubscribed, you may be given a place at a school you didn’t choose.
- Relying on last year’s distance. The furthest distance offered changes every year; treat it as guidance.
- Missing the 11+ registration date, which comes months before the application deadline.